Paying for Failure

May 19, 2008 (issue)
Paying for Failure

Sprint first paid him $6.5 million in cash and stock just to leave BellSouth, where he was the number two executive. Sprint also bought Forsee's house in Atlanta before he moved to Kansas City. Once on the job Forsee was paid between $1.5 million and $5 million a year. His only real claim to fame while running Sprint was engineering the disastrous Nextel merger and watching its stock price tumble from $25 two years ago to $7.40.

At the end of 2007 he was fired "without cause." But he had negotiated well. Sprint gave him $40 million, including a $1.5 million salary through 2009, $5 million in bonuses, stock options and restricted shares worth $23 million and an $84,000-a-month pension for life. This package was structured under his contract as if he were still running the company and had met all his goals. Oh, Sprint also paid for "outplacement services" that landed him the presidency of the University of Missouri (where his annual salary and bonus amount to $500,000).

With Ford's pay scale on steroids, directors then set at ankle height the performance bar its bosses must clear to hit the jackpot. Their "profit" goal in 2007 was to lose only $4.9 billion, excluding special items. It hit that goal, losing $3.9 billion. For beating the bogey, Chief Executive Alan Mulally got $12 million, including a $7 million bonus. Ford's shares fell 10% last year. Can he rescue this firm? If--and when--he does, shareholders won't mind a $12 million cost.

Prosecutors demand more witness-protection money

May 1, 2008
Prosecutors demand more witness-protection money

Around the country, prosecutors say tight budgets are hamstringing their ability to keep witnesses safe at a time when intimidation on the streets appears to be surging, particularly in gang cases.

"The most basic thing we should be able to do is assure them they'll be safe while their case is proceeding," Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm said. "We can't guarantee your safety."

Florida's witness protection efforts took a hit after a budget shortfall forced lawmakers in 2007 to reduce $500,000 originally appropriated for the program to $100,000.

Support for Republicans Falls to Record Low

May 1, 2008
Support for Republicans Falls to Record Low

Only 27% of voters have positive views of the Republican Party, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, the lowest level for either party in the survey's nearly two-decade history.

Yet the party's probable presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, continues to run nearly even with Democratic rivals Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton. His standing so far makes for a more competitive race for the White House than would be expected for Republicans, who face an electorate that overwhelmingly believes the country is headed in the wrong direction under President Bush.

Vets say they feel misled about GI benefits

April 29, 2008
Vets say they feel misled about GI benefits

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Cheated. Baited and switched. That's how veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan say they feel about military recruiters who sold them on how the GI Bill would benefit them.

Soldiers, Marines and airmen, speaking at a Capitol Hill rally Tuesday, said they are not given enough funds from the bill to cover college expenses as they were promised.

47 percent of those polled considered struggling

April 30, 2008
47 percent of those polled considered struggling

The survey found that 47 percent of those polled can be considered struggling, mostly with worries about money.

The 4 percent defined as "suffering" generally lacked food or shelter, and also had no hope of improvement in the future.

Gallup's James Harter said this compares to Denmark, where 83 percent of people appear to be thriving and fewer than 1 percent struggling. In Cambodia, the situation is the opposite, with only 2 percent thriving, according to other surveys.

Clinton-McCain gas tax holiday slammed as bad idea

April 30, 2008
Clinton-McCain gas tax holiday slammed as bad idea

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gas tax holiday proposed by U.S. presidential hopefuls John McCain and Hillary Clinton is viewed as a bad idea by many economists and has drawn unexpected support for Clinton rival Barack Obama, who also is opposed.

"Score one for Obama," wrote Greg Mankiw, a former chairman of President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers. "In light of the side effects associated with driving ... gasoline taxes should be higher than they are, not lower."

April 29, 2008
Lull in Iraq over as U.S. deaths reach 7-month high

MEXICO CITY — U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Tuesday acknowledged that a seven-month lull in U.S. troops deaths in Iraq has come to an end and blamed the bloodshed on Shiite Muslim militiamen who have bombarded the Green Zone and key parts of Baghdad with rockets and mortar rounds.

April has been the bloodiest month for Americans in Iraq since September, with 44 troops killed, compared to 39 in March and 29 in February.

"How You Can Thrive When Oil Costs $200 a Barrel"

April 7, 2008
"How You Can Thrive When Oil Costs $200 a Barrel"

He foresees an energy crisis that could spell the end of modern civilization -- though presumably not before he sells lots of copies of his latest book, "The Coming Economic Collapse: How You Can Thrive When Oil Costs $200 a Barrel" (Warner, 211 pages, $24.95).

No stranger to skepticism, Leeb is perhaps best known for his prediction in "The Oil Factor" (2004) that oil would reach $100 a barrel by the end of the decade. Now, citing worsening fundamentals, he predicts oil will top $200 a barrel and touch off hyperinflation, double-digit interest rates and a cascading collapse of the world economy. His book, written with Glen Strathy, tries to be both a call to arms against a looming oil shock and a primer on how investors can protect themselves.

Foreclosure more than doubled in first quarter

April 29, 2008
Foreclosure more than doubled in first quarter

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The number of U.S. homes heading toward foreclosure more than doubled in the first quarter from a year earlier, as weakening property values and tighter lending left many homeowners powerless to prevent homes from being auctioned to the highest bidder, a research firm said Monday.

Among the hardest hit states were Nevada, Florida and, in particular, California, where Stockton led the nation with a foreclosure rate that was 6.6 times the national average, Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac Inc. said.

Why the Discredited Right Still Sets the Agenda and Dominates the Debate

April 28, 2008
Why the Discredited Right Still Sets the Agenda and Dominates the Debate

These three factors have combined to allow the lunatic fringe that has taken over the Right to hijack our country, our democracy, and our Constitution. So that 28 percent of the population that continues to support George W. Bush no matter how many bodies pile up in Iraq, how many jobs disappear overseas, how many For Sale signs go up on their block, or how high gas prices get, continues to dominate our politics.

Let's take them one by one, starting with the media which remains hopelessly addicted to the false belief that in order to be fair and balanced every story needs to be given the "on the one hand... and on the other" treatment. But not every story has two sides -- and the truth is often to be found not in the middle but solidly on one side or the other.

The earth is not flat. Global warming is a fact. Evolution is a fact -- sorry Mike Huckabee. And not even Republicans still believe in the unfettered, free market. Look how they rushed to Big Government to save their beloved Bear Sterns.

Nor are there two sides to the proposition that Iraq is our generation's greatest foreign policy disaster. It is. Period. Full stop. Yet the same media that enabled the administration to sell us the multi-trillion dollar war are -- nearly six years later -- still pushing the Right's line that "the surge is working." Green Zone bombardments be damned.

FBI warned Justice, Pentagon about interrogation tactics used against terror suspects

April 23, 2008
FBI warned Justice, Pentagon about interrogation tactics used against terror suspects

WASHINGTON - FBI Director Robert Mueller on Wednesday recalled warning the Justice Department and the Pentagon that some U.S. interrogation methods used against terrorists might be inappropriate, if not illegal.

Mueller's comments came under pointed questioning by House Democrats demanding to know if the FBI tried to stop interrogations in 2002 that critics define as torture.

Cutoffs and Pleas for Aid Rise With Heat Costs

April 25, 2008
Cutoffs and Pleas for Aid Rise With Heat Costs

After struggling with soaring heating costs through the winter, millions of Americans are behind on electric and gas bills, and a record number of families could face energy shut-offs over the next two months, according to state energy officials and utilities around the country.

The escalating costs of heating oil, propane and kerosene, most commonly used in the Northeast, have posed the greatest burdens, officials say, but natural gas and electricity prices have also climbed at a time when low-end incomes are stagnant and prices have also jumped for food and gasoline.

Iran's involvement in Iraq may not have increased

April 26, 2008
Iran's involvement in Iraq may not have increased

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Some US intelligence and administration officials believe that while Iranian arms shipments to Iraq continued in recent months, they have not necessarily increased, The New York Times reported Saturday.

Citing unnamed US officials, the newspaper said Tehran has shifted tactics to distance itself from a direct role in Iraq since the US military captured 20 Iranian operatives in December 2006 and January 2007.

Since then, Iran seems to have focused instead on training Iraqi Shiite fighters inside Iran, the report said.

Pentagon Reports on Iraq's Military Are Suspect, Audit Says

April 25, 2008
Pentagon Reports on Iraq's Military Are Suspect, Audit Says

April 25 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. public and lawmakers should be skeptical of the Pentagon's quarterly reports on Iraq's progress toward building a viable military and police force, according to a new audit.

The reports from the Defense Department are based on data supplied by the Iraqi government that hasn't been fully vetted by the U.S. military and is unreliable, according to the Special Inspector General For Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart Bowen.

There are uncertainties," for example, about the true number" of Iraqi military and police personnel on active duty or in training, Bowen wrote. A substantial number of personnel still on the payroll are not available for duty for various reasons, such as being on leave, absent without leave, injured or killed," he said.

Mortgage Brokers Overcharged Clients

April 9, 2008
Mortgage Brokers Overcharged Clients

More often than not, brokers placed borrowers with weak credit in loans with significantly higher interest rates than lender-originated mortgages, according to the study released Tuesday by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Center for Responsible Lending.

By tacking on additional percentage points to subprime borrowers' loans, mortgage brokers got rewarded in bonuses from lenders called "yield-spread premiums" that often totaled several thousand dollars and added thousands of dollars in payments to the borrower during the life of the loan, the study found.

Many states appear to be in recession

April 25, 2008
Many states appear to be in recession

The finances of many states have deteriorated so badly that they appear to be in a recession, regardless of whether that's true for the nation as a whole, a survey of all 50 state fiscal directors concludes.

The situation looks even worse for the fiscal year that begins July 1 in most states.

"Whether or not the national economy is in recession — a subject of ongoing debate — is almost beside the point for some states," said the report to be released Friday by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Wealthiest Americans aren't immune from mortgage crisis

April 24, 2008
Wealthiest Americans aren't immune from mortgage crisis

GREENWICH, Connecticut: With the mortgage crisis still spreading, even homes in one of the wealthiest towns in the United States can fall into foreclosure. But to be in charge of auctioning off such homes to the highest bidder is a far greater challenge here in Greenwich than in most other places.

Just ask John Thygerson, who parked his Jeep sport utility vehicle in front of an empty $1.6 million, 4-bedroom colonial on the flawless spring Saturday last week. As a foreclosure auctioneer, he was scheduled - for the third time since January - to sell the house. But the owner, a construction business owner who has fallen on hard times, made a last-minute mortgage payment and the foreclosure was postponed yet again.

Consumer Confidence Fell to a 26-Year Low

April 25, 2008
Consumer Confidence Fell to a 26-Year Low

April 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumer confidence fell more than forecast in April to a 26-year low as record fuel prices and rising unemployment threatened to reduce spending.

The Reuters/University of Michigan sentiment index decreased to 62.6, from 69.5 the previous month. The measure was down from a preliminary estimate of 63.2 issued on April 11.

Detainees Allege Being Drugged, Questioned

April 22, 2008
Detainees Allege Being Drugged, Questioned

"I'd fall asleep" after the shot, Nusairi, a former Saudi policeman captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2002, recalled in an interview with his attorney at the military prison in Cuba, according to notes. After being roused, Nusairi eventually did talk, giving U.S. officials what he later described as a made-up confession to buy some peace.

"I was completely gone," he remembered. "I said, 'Let me go. I want to go to sleep. If it takes saying I'm a member of al-Qaeda, I will.' "

Democrats favored in electoral map

April 26, 2008
Democrats favored in electoral map

WASHINGTON - The electoral road to the White House favors Democrats this fall — either Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton — and has Republican John McCain playing defense to thwart a presidential power shift.

A downtrodden economy, the war in Iraq and a public call for change have created an Electoral College outlook and a political environment filled with extraordinary opportunity for the Democrats and enormous challenge for the GOP nominee-in-waiting.

Record oil price to boost oil majors' profits

April 25, 2008
Record oil price to boost oil majors' profits

LONDON (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) are expected to report bumper first-quarter profits next week, thanks to record crude prices, but $110 per barrel oil will also squeeze refining profits and delay a return to oil production growth.

Brent and benchmark U.S. crude prices rose around 70 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, to average almost $97/bbl and $98/bbl, respectively, while gas prices also rose.

Iraq war, not earmarks, busting federal budget

April 17, 2008
Iraq war, not earmarks, busting federal budget

Bridge to nowhere: $398 million.

Pre-emptive war to nowhere: $3 trillion.

Sometimes it's important to review where our federal tax dollars go and in what proportions. Conventional political spin would have us believe that spending on unnecessary earmarks is busting the budget while the war in Iraq need not enter our fiscal consciousness because it's funded with "supplementals" and therefore "off budget."

300,000 vets have mental problem, 320,000 had brain injuries

April 17, 2008
300,000 vets have mental problem, 320,000 had brain injuries

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some 300,000 U.S. troops are suffering from major depression or post traumatic stress from serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 320,000 received brain injuries, a new study estimates.

Only about half have sought treatment, said the study released Thursday by the RAND Corporation.

Pentagon institute calls Iraq war 'a major debacle'

April 17, 2008
Pentagon institute calls Iraq war 'a major debacle'

WASHINGTON — The war in Iraq has become "a major debacle" and the outcome "is in doubt" despite improvements in security from the buildup in U.S. forces, according to a highly critical study published Thursday by the Pentagon's premier military educational institute.

The report released by the National Defense University raises fresh doubts about President Bush 's projections of a U.S. victory in Iraq just a week after Bush announced that he was suspending U.S. troop reductions.

The report carries considerable weight because it was written by Joseph Collins, a former senior Pentagon official, and was based in part on interviews with other former senior defense and intelligence officials who played roles in prewar preparations.

Workers Get Fewer Hours, Deepening the Downturn

April 18, 2008
Workers Get Fewer Hours, Deepening the Downturn

Throughout the country, businesses grappling with declining fortunes are cutting hours for those on their payrolls. Self-employed people are suffering a drop in demand for their services, like music lessons, catering and management consulting. Growing numbers of people are settling for part-time work out of a failure to secure a full-time position.

The gradual erosion of the paycheck has become a stealth force driving the American economic downturn. Most of the attention has focused on the loss of jobs and the risk of layoffs. But the less-noticeable shrinking of hours and pay for millions of workers around the country appears to be a bigger contributor to the decline, which has already spread from housing and finance to other important areas of the economy.

Pope criticises US for shunning Iraq diplomacy

April 21, 2008
Pope criticises US for shunning Iraq diplomacy

In a carefully-worded speech at the United Nations, Benedict underlined the need for diplomacy.

"Multilateral consensus continues to be in crisis because it is still subordinated to the decisions of a few, whereas the world's problems call for interventions in the form of collective action," he said, adding that international rules must be "binding".

Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican representative at the UN, said Benedict wanted to attack "the false notion that might makes right".

Across Globe, Empty Bellies Bring Rising Anger

April 18, 2008
Across Globe, Empty Bellies Bring Rising Anger

That anger is palpable across the globe. The food crisis is not only being felt among the poor but is also eroding the gains of the working and middle classes, sowing volatile levels of discontent and putting new pressures on fragile governments.

In Cairo, the military is being put to work baking bread as rising food prices threaten to become the spark that ignites wider anger at a repressive government. In Burkina Faso and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, food riots are breaking out as never before. In reasonably prosperous Malaysia, the ruling coalition was nearly ousted by voters who cited food and fuel price increases as their main concerns.

Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand

April 18, 2008
Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand

To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as "military analysts" whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world.

Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration's wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.

The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air.

Top US general 'hoodwinked' on torture

April 18, 2008
Top US general 'hoodwinked' on torture

• Senior figures in the Bush administration pushed through previously outlawed measures with the help of unqualified and inexperienced military officials at Guantánamo.

• Myers believes he was a victim of "intrigue" by top lawyers at the department of justice, the office of the vice president, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld's defence department.

• Myers wrongly believed interrogation techniques had been taken from the army's field manual.

Military medical errors, malpractice immune to redress

April 20, 2008
Military medical errors, malpractice immune to redress

Medical personnel at David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base screamed at one another. A double dose of a powerful stimulant was mistakenly administered. When a breathing tube was finally inserted, it was misdirected. By the time a breathing tube finally was inserted correctly, Witt had devastating brain damage. Three months later, he was removed from life support and died. Witt, who grew up in Oroville, Calif., left behind a wife and two children, including a 4-month-old son.

Despite the report's harsh criticism of Witt's medical care, the bereaved family could not sue for malpractice, because Witt was an active-duty airman. Under limits stemming from an obscure Supreme Court ruling nearly 60 years old, military hospitals and their staffs are immune from malpractice claims - even for the most egregious lapses - if the victim is an enlisted man or woman on active duty.